What's In A Name
by MythologyOfZuko
Summary: The name of Viktor Viktorovich Nikiforov belongs a long line of men, generation after generation, loving and kind and generous and warm, strong and protective. Now a new heir to the name is arriving, and Viktor finally understands the weight of his name is a blessing, a gift to his child.
1. A New Heir

**A/N:** This fic will have many many Russian words and I will put a glossary at the end. The main character for the first chapter is our Viktor's _father_ , and his feelings about his family and Viktor's birth. From the opening paragraph you will know that everyone in the family is called Viktor so it will be very confusing to keep track of who is who. I tried to be clear by using family pronouns as much as possible, hopefully it works out. The second chapter will be more obvious and simpler because it's between Viktor and Yuuri and their family together.

And now, the standard disclaimers from years yonder: I _do not own Yuri! on Ice, any of its characters, or its story. The rights go to everyone at Studio MAPPA, writer Kubo-sensei, director Yamamoto-sensei. This is a work of love towards their efforts, and no profit shall be made off this work by me or anyone. Please attribute to me and them if you plan to refer to this work, as a courtesy._

* * *

Viktor Viktorovich Nikiforov comes from a long line of men, fathers and sons and grandfathers and grandsons all named Viktor Viktorovich Nikiforov, stretching back into the grand history of the Kievan Rus. Not that they could actually trace back that far, or if it was ever even true. All Viktor knows is that his papenka, dyedushenka, and according to them their papenkas and dyedushenkas as well, were all named Viktor Viktorovich Nikiforov. They were all winners, glorious victors, successful in life in all the important ways. Not necessarily grand memorable careers, long noble titles, luxurious wealth, or record setting accomplishments, though not excluding them either. They were all winners in love, in friendship and family and community. When times were tough, everyone knew they could count on the line of Viktor Viktorovich to help them weather through their pain, share their burden and blessings. And now, Viktor will introduce to the world a new heir to the name, his newborn son who will grow up to be strong and a pillar of support for those he loves and those who love him, the new scion of Nikiforov. On December 25th, 1985, Viktor Viktorovich welcomes his firstborn son, Viktor Viktorovich.

As anyone can imagine, such a tradition would be instantly confusing on how to address a family full of Viktor Viktorovich's. Thus, another quality that has been inherited and passed down for generations is the warmth and fraternity that the Viktors all embody, to address everyone, and insist on being addressed, with nicknames, endearments, names so sweet they make new acquaintances and old friends alike blush. Viktor's dyedushenka would call babushenka many pet names, golubka being the favourite. He would call her moy golubka, my dove, and she would reply in kind moy voron, my raven, causing everyone to become flustered at the blatant display of affection. Papenka was orlechka to them, little eagle, and dyadenka was ptichka, little birdie, and they flew together as a loving family into their future, uncertain and difficult during the Stalin era but making sure their home in Leningrad was warm and welcome.

When Viktor was young, dyedushenka would have his friends gather at least once a month, and they would tell reminisce and tell Viktor tales of dyedushenka's generosity and kindness throughout the hard regime. In the recountings, and still then in casual conversation, they would refer to dyedushenka as solnyshko, the little sun. Not just for his light blond hair, but also for his unfaltering bright and cheerful smile, always willing to please and assist anyone who turned to him. Dyedushenka would deflect, and talk about his own papa and dyedushenka, how they were so much better, that he still looks to his memory of them to guide him. Viktor thought then that he would forever aim to the same standard, to remember and emulate these stories of his magnanimous dyedushenka who was loved by his many friends and all in the family, who never hesitated to be the support for others in need. The passing of dyedushenka saw a gathering of friends so large and inconsolable that even the neighbours, who themselves have been won over by dyedushenka and babushenka's inviting friendliness, opened their doors to help host and serve the visiting mourners.

As for his papenka, people had taken to calling him Mishka Medvedev for his fierce protectiveness and loyalty. While dyedushenka was radiant and boisterous, papa was quieter and more solemn, but no less warm and affectionate. Viktor had wondered for a while why visitors would refer to papa sometimes as Viktor Viktorovich, understandably polite and proper, and other times as Mishka Medvedev, a completely different name and oddly using the surname instead of the patronymic. He assumed it was just confusion of the guests, and Viktor was too polite to correct them, thinking they would figure it out eventually. But it was a few years later when papenka was holding a party for his hockey team after a win, when the story came out about how papenka got the name. He literally growled and roared at a sore loser from the opposing team who tried to assault his teammate who scored the winning shot one night, and managed to tackle him to the ground and almost broke his arm holding him down. The ferocity was like a bear out of the woods, they had said, many shaking their heads, while papa simply sneered and said "he deserved it". And they went on to describe more instances of papenka protecting the team on the ice during fights, throwing himself into brawls to shield his teammates. Viktor learned then, too, that his papenka was brave and caring, and that Viktor would strive to be as brave and caring for the ones that he loved.

But despite the tinge of violence in those stories, papenka was still mainly a gentle figure in Viktor's mind. He would pick Viktor up to ride on his atop broad shoulders or piggyback upon his strong back. Papenka's large hands and firm arms were always a comforting presence to Viktor to hold on to. Papenka was also soft and warm and has kind blue eyes that could soothe any pain in Viktor's heart, as he murmurs quiet reassurances that Viktor will be alright, papenka would protect him always. Mamenka calls papenka mishka for different reasons: he is her teddy bear, cuddly and loving. He wooed her with soft kisses and light caresses, respecting and admiring her strength as a woman. He calls her tigritsa, because she protects his family when he is away at games, and protects him when he's home. Mamenka nurses papenka's heart when he comes from from a loss, gives him comfort so that nothing hurts, builds papenka back up so he can go out strong once more. And for Viktor she does everything a mother does and more, loving Viktor with all her fierce intensity. Mamenka kisses his bruises, patches the tears in his favourite clothes, makes his favourite lunches and brings them to his practices, and once stared down the father of the boy who intentionally checked Viktor badly, her face so stern and thunderous that both the father and the boy apologized to Viktor and mamenka. Viktor was their voyechka, little and learning to stand on his own, and loved all through.

Viktor thought he had learnt what all the love he received was for, was to teach him how to love his koroleva, his tsaritsa, his boginya, his incomparable wife Lyudmila. And love her he did, for when she expressed zero interest in hockey, and told him instead of her passion for opera, he took singing lessons and watched shows and learnt the ins-and-outs of classical art, immersed himself into a whole new world just so that he can share with her. But now, he realizes that even more so, it was all for his little synok, so small and precious in his arms. His shchenok, he promises to love and protect and cherish forever, with dyedushenka's warmth, papenka's bravery, and mamenka's strength, and pass them all to his synok, so that it will live on through all the Viktor Viktorovich Nikiforovs. He understands now his duty, and he cannot wait to pour out all his love, all his love.

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 **A/N:** This took me a lot of time to come up with, because I wanted to be sure of the right names and meanings, and also that I was using them in a way Russians typically would. Google Translate only goes so far with transformations. If anyone knows better and sees a mistake, please tell me so I can correct them! Thanks.

dyedushenka (Дедушенька): grandfather  
babushenka (бабушенька): grandmother  
papenka (папенька): daddy  
dyadenka (дяденька): uncle  
mamenka (маменька): mummy  
To all of the above were added the -еньк- (-enk-) infix, for extra family closeness. Remove it to get the original word, except dyadenka which comes from dyadya.  
solnysko (солнышко): little sun, from the root solntse (солнце) meaning sun  
moy (мой): my  
golubka (голубка): dove, from golub (голубь)  
voron (ворон): raven  
orlechka (орлечка): little eagle, from the root orel (Орел) meaning eagle  
ptichka (птичка): little birdie, from the root ptich (птичь) meaning bird  
Mishka (мишка): common name for bears, like Bessie for cows or Spot for dogs  
Medvedev (Медве́дев): Russian surname, from the root medved (медведь) meaning bear  
tigritsa (тигрица): tigress  
voyechka (воечка): little wolf, from the root volk (волк) meaning wolf  
knyazka (князька): prince, from knyaz (князь)  
koroleva (королева): queen  
tsaritsa (царица): czarina, or queen  
boginya (Богиня): goddess, or queen  
synok (сынок): son, from syn (сын)  
shchenok (щенок): puppy

Russian naming conventions go by [given name] [patronymic] [surname], where the partonymic is the father's given name plus -ovich for sons or -ovna for daughters, plus some special cases and variations. It is polite to refer to people as [given name] [patronymic] amongst Russian speakers (and those closely culturally related), and [given name] [surname] to Westerners. Any other names come as familiarity increases, and there are limitless ways to transform them, many just go by ear to what sounds good. Wikipedia and TVTropes have good explanations and examples for all the conventions I used here for transforming names and nouns. Since every firstborn son of the Nikiforov family is called Viktor, they are all therefore invariably called Viktor Viktorovich Nikiforov.


	2. You Will Be Enough

**A/N:** So I changed my mind, this chapter is in both Viktor's and Yuuri's POV. As something completely different. Sigh, this whole fic all started out in my head as a short Viktor POV about what to call his daughter and thinking about his forefathers, but I moved the whole lot to his dad so that I can focus on his interaction with little Vika, but now she's not even born! Maybe I'll do a drabble one day and get the original idea out.

And now, the standard disclaimers from years yonder: I _do not own Yuri! on Ice, any of its characters, or its story. The rights go to everyone at Studio MAPPA, writer Kubo-sensei, director Yamamoto-sensei. This is a work of love towards their efforts, and no profit shall be made off this work by me or anyone. Please attribute to me and them if you plan to refer to this work, as a courtesy._

* * *

They are lounging on the sofa after dinner, just enjoying each other's company. Actually, they are sprawled across the sofa, Viktor underneath Yuuri, whose head is leaning on Viktor's chest, savoring the deep vibrations rumbling across when Viktor talks. They talk about everything and nothing. They talk about the children they are teaching to skate at Ice Castle.

"You're so good with children, Viktor. They all love you, and crowd around you and listen to you. I wish I was good with children like you. Or good with people in general."

"You are good with children. There's quiet little Tadashi, who always wants to go to you. And Hatou and Ichirou and Sana. They don't like the boisterous crowd and you make them feel included."

"But I'm so quiet, a lot of people think I'm hard to approach."

"Just because you're quiet doesn't mean people don't like you. You're very kind and sweet, to everyone. It just takes some time to get to know you. There's a reason the other skaters always cheer for you, even if you win their medals."

Yuuri becomes flustered at that, burying his face into the front of Viktor's shirt. Viktor reaches down and presses a light kiss to Yuuri's hair, smiling into it and breathing in his scent. This is everything Viktor had ever wanted, to have someone to hold, especially after Makkachin's passing several years back, and he couldn't be more content. They've moved back to Hasetsu after both of their retirements, and Viktor is now teaching skating at Ice Castle. Yuuri helps out at the onsen, Minako-sensei's studio, and Ice Castle wherever he is needed. They married in Salt Lake City after the 2018 Worlds, when Yuuri finally, finally beat Yurio to the top of the podium, and they ran to the nearest registry in town the next Monday to get married there. It's not officially recognized in Japan nor Russia, of course, but the certificate still symbolized their long fight for the gold medal, and they cherished it immensely, framing it up onto their bedroom wall.

Viktor runs his hands up and down Yuuri's arms absentmindedly, humming small snippets of whichever tune that pops into his head, while Yuuri rubs his thumb across Viktor's thigh where his hand is placed. They savour the comfort of lull in conversation together, not in any hurry to be anywhere else.

After a while, Yuuri asks, "If you had any children, what would you name them? Would they also be Viktor?" Yuuri has heard of the story many times, of how Viktor comes from a long line of Viktor Viktorovich Nikiforovs, how they have pet names and nicknames of infinite variety, how they were a loving family, close as can be. Until Viktor was 10 years old, at least. The details after that were fuzzy to Yuuri, because Viktor would clam up and refuse to talk about it, only bringing up small parts that were upsetting him whenever something reminded him of those painful times.

Viktor seems to be in a good mood to talk now, though, and replies without any hesitation. "Yes, if I had a son, the tradition would be to name him Viktor. Viktor Viktorovich Nikiforov. I don't know about daughters, we haven't had a girl born into the Nikiforov family since dyedushenka's own dyedushenka had a sister. Maybe, if we get a daughter, we can also go with Viktoria Viktorovna Nikiforova, but I never really thought about it. I didn't think I would have children. Though I should ask you too, if we're naming our children, you should have a say about the name. Have you had and ideas?"

"Hmm, I would let my parents choose. My grandparents chose my and Mari-neechan's name, and their parents chose my father's name. I didn't think of any, and I thought I'd have until my children get married before I would start having to think up names."

There is another lull, but this time, a slight nagging was running through Yuuri's mind. He knows this will push into Viktor's unpleasant memories, but the curiosity was itching at Yuuri, so he draws a breath to prepare himself for Viktor's response and asks, "Why did you think you wouldn't have children?"

Viktor's hands still. He stops humming, becomes quiet. His breaths don't change, they're still long and slow and languid, but his arms snake around Yuuri's waist and starts to close in, bringing Yuuri closer into Viktor's body, pressing their lengths together for as much contact as possible. It is a long silence, anticipatory but not uncomfortable. Yuuri laces his fingers into Viktor's, lending Viktor the support he needs to make his decision, to share it out or to shrink it away. Yuuri wants Viktor to know, to trust, that Yuuri would be here for him.

"I never thought I would ever find love like this." Viktor says at last, almost in whisper, mumbling into Yuuri's hair. He has curled up even further, shoulders bunched in so that he is enveloping Yuuri now. His arms are holding on tighter, as if he cannot bear to let Yuuri go, like Yuuri will start drifting away the moment his grip loosens. Yuuri wants to turn around and look at Viktor, but that would put space in between them, and he knows that Viktor needs the comfort of his body more. Over the years, Yuuri has learnt that Viktor needs to touch, to have another body to anchor him down when his emotions are threatening to be blown asunder by the storm in his mind, and so Yuuri lets Viktor hold on.

They've been through this before. It would come up at the most innocuous moments, the reminders of Viktor's childhood that made him feel not worthy of love. Once, it was when they were doing dishes together, and Yuuri had commented on the domesticity of it all. Another was when after the Grand Prix Finals, they went touring around and saw families lighting Chanukkiahs in a park. Yuuri never got any explanation for those episodes, still doesn't understand why or what really will unlock the floodgates in Viktor, but he knows what to do.

So Yuuri answers back, "I love you Viktor, I love you and I will never leave," as if he could read Viktor's mind. The truth is, after living with Viktor for so many years, Yuuri has learnt what the silences mean, the doubts and insecurities buried deep into Viktor's bones. He knows the words he needs to say to fill in the cracks, the small comforting gestures that paints over the scabs when they start to peel again. He's learnt to let Viktor hold him, and to hold Viktor close. He's learnt to tell Viktor often that he loves Viktor, that Viktor will never be unworthy. Yuuri knows to call Viktor various little Russian pet names that Viktor taught him. Vitya, Vityenka, Vityachka, sometimes Vitka to tease him. Shchenok and shchenyachka. Knyazka. Solnyshko. His name and the names of his forefathers. It was a lot of effort to learn how to pronounce all those odd consonants and despairing lack of vowels, but it was worth the light in Viktor's eyes every time he heard a name. So Yuuri says it again, "I love you. _Ya tebya lyublyu, moy Vityenka_."

And Viktor was inching closer to healing too. He will never make up for the lost time, the years when he was alone and unsure if he was loved anymore, if he _could_ love anymore. But now, now that he's found love, made the leap and landed in Yuuri's embrace, he was slowly patching together the fraying seams. Viktor's lover is his husband, who lives with him, to whom he wakes up in bed to, who he knows loves him forever and will never leave. He won't make his parent's mistakes, and trusts that Yuuri will not as well. " _Tebya lyublyu tak silno, kotenok_."

Yuuri turns around then, because this is something he needs to say face-to-face. He sits up and tucks his legs under him, feet wiggled under Viktor, and cups his palms to Viktor's cheeks. He looks deep into those mesmerizing blue-green eyes, watery but strong. "You will make a great papa to our children, Vityenka. Someday when we have them, you will."

"Will I?" Viktor is almost pleading, as if he cannot trust himself to be sure.

"Yes, you will. I believe in you." And as Yuuri leans in to seal the promise with a kiss, Viktor starts to feel that maybe he can believe in himself too.

* * *

 **A/N:** I spent 20 minutes looking up to see if they could actually get married in Salt Lake City, just so I can put that one line in there with a clear conscience. My conscience cares about weird things. The children naming traditions were inspired by my friend who has an entire family of Joaqim DeSilva's (example placeholder, not their real name), like every male, him and his brother and father and uncles and cousins and grandfather all of them are Joaqim DeSilva (with different middle names of course). Personally, me, my sister and two cousins' names were chosen by my grandfather, and we decided to let out parents have first picks for our kids' names if they wanted. Also, what mistakes did Viktor's parents make? What happened beginning from 10 years old? I have an idea, and I might make it into a fic someday.

ya tebya lyublyu (я тебя люблю): I love you (emphasis on you)  
tak silno (так сильно): so much  
kotenok (котенок): kitten


End file.
